The Temple of Seti I, Abydos

Abydos is located 90 miles north of Luxor, on the west bank of the river Nile, and is situated right at the dividing line between the lush and fertile Nile river plain, and the dry and arid western desert. This magnificent temple, built by Seti I (1306-1290 BC), was dedicated to the god Osiris, Lord of the Underworld. Unfortunately for most tourists, this site is off the main tourist trail, and few visitors get to enjoy its splendor. In fact, because of the threat of terrorist attacks, we had to have an armed police escort from Luxor in order to get here - but after seeing the site, it was well worth the extra hassle.

The temple has been well restored and the roof repaired in modern times, and the sheer size of it leaves one somewhat at a loss for words. The pictures below will hopefully go some way to doing this magnificent piece of architecture some justice.

The following 4 photos were taken in the Inner Hypostyle Hall of the temple. Its high roof is supported by enormous cylindrical columns, each of which is inscribed with figures, scenes and hieroglyphs.

Ancient Aircraft, or just coincidence?

On one of the supporting roof lintels in the Outer Hypostyle Hall of the temple, there appear the most remarkable set of hieroglyphs I have ever set my eyes upon. They seem to depict images of aircraft, a helicopter, and what can only be described as a spacecraft. Now I am not advocating the existance of aliens with spacecraft in the past history of ancient Egypt, nor am I saying the ancient Egyptians developed the technology to fly, but the facts are these - these hieroglyphs DO exist, I have seen them with my own eyes, and I want an explanation. Our Egyptian tour guide explained them as hoaxes carved by French archaeologists earlier this century, and I have also seen them explained as hybrid hieroglyphs formed by the coincidental combination of new hieroglyphs being carved out over old ones. Whatever the reason, I thought as we'd been there and seen it, it would be worth a mention - perhaps it will stir up a little more intelligent debate on the subject.

The rest of the photos in this section were taken at various points inside the temple. One common theme running though most of them, is the fact that a lot of the carvings have had the faces deliberately obscured by vandalism - this is unfortunately the work of early christian monks who, for some reason or another, thought their religion was so supreme as to dictate these carvings as works of the devil, and that it was their duty to  remove them from the face of history. I find myself angered and saddened by these actions.